The Power of Sixby Pittacus Lore

Number Seven is known as Mariana. She’s been shuttered away in a convent in some obscure town in Spain for several long, tedious and lonely years. Her Cepân appears to have lost all hope; her self-denial all consuming in her feverish conversion to Christianity. However, the emergence of Mariana’s legacies pre-empts a dramatic shift in their closeted lives: the opening of her Chest, the arrival of ‘Ella’ who isn’t all she seems and Mariana’s sighting of a Mogadorian inescapably leads to an epic battle that Seven is poorly equipped to survive.

The title itself is misleading, whether intentional or not, as the plot does not hinge on Six’s legacies, nor does it feature six Loriens (we only meet an additional two numbers); but it doesn’t exactly matter. What matters are the introductions of those Loriens and the allure of new stories and dramatic escapes they will inevitably bring to the party. Number Four remains the main attraction, although interestingly, a complex love triangle begins to enmesh the main characters (Four, Six and Sam). With Sarah temporarily out of the picture, it’s not hard to imagine a testosterone-fuelled teenage boy suddenly developing ‘feelings’ for the only female he has any meaningful contact with - a twisted version of Stockholm Syndrome – but the threesome’s apparent ease with their mutual attraction is pushing the limits of credibility.

The highlight is undoubtedly the Mogadorian cave. A terrifying subterranean system of interconnected tunnels and caverns that house a Mogadorian horde, their alien creatures and more importantly: prisoners.

Yes, the novel has faults: annoyingly random plot tangents pepper the narrative, which suffers with clumsy, trivial, pointless banter or introspection. However, in its defence; the quality of writing has improved and none of its failings manage to prevent your eyes being riveted to the pages. As with all good children’s series, it’s the story that drives its success – and there Mr Lore has bagged himself a winner.